By Ibrahim Sesay
The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning has revealed that a significant portion of the land at the centre of the long-running Bathurst/Gloucester dispute belongs to the Government of Sierra Leone following a detailed investigation into competing ownership claims.
The findings were presented during a Press Conference held on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at the Ministry’s conference room at Youyi Building in Freetown.
Speaking at the event, Minister of Lands, Dr. Turad Senesie, said the purpose of the Press Conference was to publicly present the report of the investigation and help Sierra Leoneans better understand the challenges surrounding land governance in the country.
“The objective of this Press Conference is to present a report to the public about the investigation regarding a land dispute at Bathurst and Gloucester,” Dr. Turad Senesie said, adding that he believes the presentation of the findings would bring clarity to the parties involved.
The Minister emphasized that under Sierra Leone’s land governance system, all land ultimately belongs to the state, whether located in the Western Area or in the provinces.
“If the title of ownership does not come from the State, claiming ownership of that land by any individual is regarded as illegal,” he stated.
He further clarified that while chiefs in the provinces hold land in custody on behalf of the State, community headmen do not have the authority to sell land but are responsible for managing human relations within their communities.
Dr. Turad Senesie noted that ongoing land reforms are intended to address long-standing challenges within the sector, including unauthorized land sales and disputes arising from unclear ownership claims.
Presenting the technical findings of the investigation, Acting Professional Head and Director of Surveys at the Ministry, Tamba S. Dauda, said the process involved a detailed verification of documents submitted by the various claimants, physical inspections of the land and cross-checking with both digital and manual records at the Ministry.
“We asked all parties involved to submit their documents and part of the process started with the verification of those documents,” Tamba S. Dauda explained. “We also checked physically to see whether what is on the ground correlates with what is on paper.”
Tamba S. Dauda said the Ministry also examined the origin of each claim as part of efforts to identify cases of what he described as “land laundering,” a practice where individuals attempt to legitimize questionable land ownership through documentation.
According to him, survey plans indicating Plot 1 measuring 9.7 acres belonging to Alpha Koroma, Plot 2 measuring 9.9 acres owned by Joseph Kamara and Plot 3 measuring 9.7 acres attributed to Mendy Sylvernus J. Bangura at Gloucester/Bathurst Road were found to be unauthentic after checks with the Ministry’s records.
“We thoroughly checked against our digital and manual records and found that the documents are not in our records,” he said.
He also stated that a survey plan submitted by Honorable Hawa Saffa on behalf of the Development Initiative Program, which claimed ownership of two plots measuring 10.2124 acres and 6.3565 acres and other plots, was not processed or signed by the Ministry, rendering it invalid.
He disclosed that after the findings were presented to the Chief Minister, the Ministry was instructed to reclaim portions of the land belonging to the Government while allowing legitimately owned private properties to remain with their owners.
Responding to the findings, Umaru Napoleon Koroma, Esq., lawyer representing Alpha Koroma, Joseph Kamara and Mendy Sylvernus J. Bangura, described the dispute as one of the most difficult experiences of his professional career.
He added that the dispute has led to several legal battles since 2013 and revealed that he had received death threats directed at him and his family over the matter. Despite the challenges, Umaru Napoleon Koroma said he would accept the Ministry’s report on behalf of his clients.
“If the Ministry has done its expert investigation, I don’t have the competence to deny what they have done. On behalf of my clients, I will accept this report and we will study it properly,” he stated. He also appealed to the Ministry to consider residents who have lived on the land for many years if the Government decides to distribute it.
Similar appeals were made by community stakeholders present at the briefing.
Headman of Bathurst Village, Theophilus Johnson, commended the Ministry for its efforts in addressing the dispute but noted that the lack of clear demarcation between Bathurst and Gloucester communities had contributed to the conflict. He urged authorities to address the issue and also consider long-time residents when land distribution begins.
Councillor Zakaria Kanneh of the Western Area Rural District, representing Gloucester Village, also thanked the Ministry for conducting the investigation but expressed concern over what he described as the continuous absence of Hon. Hawa Saffa during meetings related to the matter. Zakaria Kanneh assured that community stakeholders would support the enforcement of the outcome of the investigation.
He also appealed to the Ministry to consider the limited availability of community land needed for public facilities such as dumping sites.
The Press Conference formed part of the Ministry’s commitment to publicly disclose the findings of its investigation into the Bathurst/Gloucester land dispute, which has involved multiple claimants and drawn public attention over the years.
